PHOTO: Courtesy of WLUK
GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — Homelessness continues to be an ongoing problem across Wisconsin and in Brown County.
The Brown County Homeless and Housing Coalition has one goal in mind: to bring homelessness in Brown County down to zero. However, it’s a long road ahead, as homelessness is on the rise.
“We have folks that are not able to experience their full potential because of a fundamental gap in a basic need, that of having a roof over their heads,” Brown County Homeless and Housing Coalition Chair Noel Halvorsen said.
The latest data on Brown County homelessness was presented by the coalition and Wisconsin Balance of State Continuum of Care.
The total number of unsheltered homeless people in the county was at its highest ever at 86 in 2024, up from just five in 2019. For 2025, the unofficial count is at 73.
Halvorsen also said the number of unsheltered people experiencing homelessness in the winter is at its highest. The number of people served by an emergency shelter, transitional housing and street outreach projects in Brown County went up from 2,154 in 2023 to 2,620 in 2024.
“It’s been climbing as we see housing costs, rents rise, the cost of building rise and it’s just making it challenging for folks of modest means to afford housing,” Halvorsen said.
Changes in the real estate market and lack of affordability are the biggest contributors to homelessness.
Halvorsen said finding ways to add more dwelling units to the community plays a huge role in ending homelessness in Brown County. In 2024, 113 affordable housing units opened in Green Bay, but that’s not enough.
St. John’s Ministries shelter in Green Bay said tackling homelessness is a collective effort.
“We’re stepping up into those spaces, so to know that there’s some oversight, that single shelters aren’t out there doing things in a silent way, but we’re coming to the table and saying, ‘How can we as a community address this?'” St. John’s Ministries Executive Director Jesse Brunette said.
Among the people St. John’s serves, they see a lot of folks experiencing drug and alcohol addiction and mental health issues.
“It’s not just providing shelter, but providing a multitude of programs, so if a person is experiencing homelessness, they have many paths out of homelessness,” Brunette said.
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